


we can take our time (to find our way)

by Sotong_sotong



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aun, Canon Related, Character Study, I just wanted to write bout time progression with iwaoi thrown in, Introspection, M/M, and a small bit of fluff, minor mentions of Karasuno and Ushijima, so angst with a hopeful ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 15:19:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6710146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sotong_sotong/pseuds/Sotong_sotong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One minute Tooru’s in the trees, small frame clinging to branches and trunks, and the next he’s in the neighbourhood  playground getting smacked in the face with his volleyball. Hajime wants to snort but if he closes eyes, he doesn’t know where Tooru will go then</p>
            </blockquote>





	we can take our time (to find our way)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tothemoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tothemoon/gifts).



> A super tiny and super belated birthday fic dedicated to Justine! It was supposed to be finished way waay back but RL called. Thank you for being one of the nicest people in the fandom I know and for always writing beautiful iwaoi!! (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ* My writing's nothing like yours but I hope you'll enjoy this all the same.
> 
>  Majorly inspired by Digitalism ft. Youngblood Hawke's "Wolves" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foXJAV4bRiE) and this one quote:
> 
> "The clock talked loud. I threw it away, it scared me what it talked." -- Tillie Olsen, Tell Me a Riddle

One minute Tooru’s in the trees, small frame clinging to branches and trunks, and the next he’s in the neighbourhood playground getting smacked in the face with his volleyball. Hajime wants to snort but if he closes eyes, he doesn’t know where Tooru will go then because another minute comes and they’re both in dark blue jackets with white outlines. Their backs read _Kitagawa Daiichi_ and Hajime doesn’t call him Tooru anymore. He calls him Oikawa.

(To be honest, he calls him Kusokawa half the time but is rain wet?)

Oikawa rushes here; he rushes to the court, he rushes off the court, he rushes after something even Hajime’s not entirely sure Oikawa possesses but the idiot wants to grab hold of it anyway. Hajime so badly wants to knock it into his head that roads have traffic lights for a darn good reason because you need to stop, look, and then only go or you won’t know what’s up ahead.

And that’s how, he supposes, his best friend crashes into walls he never saw coming.

And as per usual, Oikawa’s so far into his head that he doesn’t realise that it’s impossible to climb over behemoths like Ushijima or Kageyama _alone_.

It’s infuriating to see him banging against the same thing over and over again and Hajime’s having none of that bullshit, lets Oikawa know it by literally _hammering_ some sense home if that bloody nose is anything to go by; why struggle by yourself when there’s always someone (or six people for the matter) to help give you a leg up? 

Granted, they still lose. They still cry ugly and wish for more. They still wish for Nationals, burn for it more so than ever now but that’s enough of rushing.

They’ll find their way at their own time.

 

(That minute took an awfully long age to pass but Hajime readily closes his eyes now, Oikawa’s sincere smile at the back of his mind.)

 

This time Oikawa’s not in trees, he’s not in playgrounds and not in a hurry to scramble over walls just yet either.

Hajime realises several things in gradual succession: 

**a.** his best friend’s right beside him  
**b.** his best friend’s exactly 5cm taller now of all things  
**c.** they’re first years dawdling on the second string bench for _Aobajousai_

Oikawa taps him on the shoulder and smirks. 

“Are you ready, Iwa-chan?”

Hajime blinks, then squares his shoulders. The answer’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?

( **d.** it’s time to change )

 

~~Tick tock~~

Oikawa’s captain now and he’s got this incredible jump serve, the one the setter’s been fawning over as a kid camping in front of the television during tournament seasons, and Hajime’s so fucking proud he hits the back of Oikawa’s head with another ball (well, someone’s gotta keep his ego in check) and gets him a week’s worth of milk bread after practice.

Oikawa’s arms are laden with his favourite snack and though he blusters about how inconvenient it is having to carry it all home like this, the tips of his ears are red so Hajime knows he’s secretly pleased. What a dork. 

Quick as anything, Oikawa presses a kiss to Hajime’s right cheek, grinning all the way.

“And that’s for getting the number 4 jersey, Iwa-chan! Iwa-ace-mi-chan!”

Hajime can only groan.

 

~~Tick tock Tick tock~~

They get a practice match with Karasuno and it certainly is an experience seeing the freakish Kageyama-Hinata combo.

But it’s not like Seijou doesn’t have its strengths. With time, they hold their own.

Karasuno leaves with their wings clipped during the Inter-High brackets.

 

~~Tick tock Tick tock Tick tock~~

They fail to overcome Shiratorizawa.

Again.

Later on as they’re walking back home after the match, Hajime quietly takes Oikawa’s hand in his and shuts his eyes. There goes another minute.

 

~~Tick tock Tick tock ticktockticktockticktockt i c k-----~~

The breath held back in his throat gets whooshed out when Oikawa slaps his back, followed by Mattsun and Hanamaki and—

Isn’t this the worst.

Hajime opens his eyes and wipes his tears.

Why can’t there be more time?

He and Oikawa can only watch as Karasuno soars again.

 

~~\------tock tick.~~

 

There’s something about the way minutes just fly by that’s close to unsettling but Hajime makes his peace with it. _Time and tide waits for no man_ and so on, after all. He's on the train to his dorm in Keio Daigaku. Oikawa's on a different one towards TouDai but that doesn't mean the end of anything. 

Hajime grins when his phone vibrates and flips it open. 

"Speak of the devil and he doth call."

There's some spluttering from the other end of the line and it's the best kind of typical Hajime could ever ask for.

_"We've barely parted for 3 hours and you're already like this. Drink more milk, that'll help improve your temper and maybe your height too, Iwa-chan!"_

"Fine. I accept that challenge. Once that stupid 5cm's gone, I'd like to see how you trip off your high horse then."

_"Is that so? Well, good luck then. I'll pray that you'll only reach 4cm more and that last bit will haunt you for the rest of your life!"_

(They’re just taking their time to rise again.) 

**Author's Note:**

> 1) I guess I just really wanted to write about how fast time goes by and how we don't always reach what we want as a consequence but it's okay. It's okay to step back and well, take your time to move on and try again. I hope it made sense because I banged everything out at 5am. ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿
> 
> 2) Also, the Japanese pronounce "ace" like aye-sew, so Iwa-ace-mi-chan sounds a bit like Iwaizumi-chan, doesn't it? *i'm sorry i tried*
> 
> 3) There's this belief there that if someone's grumpy, they might not be drinking enough milk and that's what's causing their bad temper. I'm not sure how true that is but I couldn't resist using this trope on Iwa-chan. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
> 
> Concrits are always welcomed!


End file.
